Category: Water
When the revolution in Rojava began, the groundwater level was very low due mainly to industrial monoculture agriculture organised by the Syrian regime over the last four decades, as well as a decline in rainfall as a result of the global climate crisis.
In 2015, Turkey started to use water as a weapon against Rojava by holding back the water on the rivers which flow from Turkey to Syria through the dams it has been building over the last twenty years.
Then, in October 2019, Turkish state forces invaded some areas of North-East Syria, including the region of Serekaniye, which supplies water to almost half a million people in the region around Hasakah. The Alouk water station in Serekaniye was targeted on the first day of the invasion. Since then it has been fixed and then put out of service again repeatedly.
Since the start of the invasion of Serekaniye, Turkish military forces and their allies have continued to attack water infrastructure, burned newly planted orchards and dammed the rivers providing most of the fresh water and electricity to Syria. Hundreds of thousands of people are currently without safe reliable drinking water, a situation only exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the articles below, you can find more information about issues surrounding water and the struggles for water autonomy in North and East Syria. There are also articles here with information on issues around water in southeastern Turkey, such as Turkish megaproject the Ilisu Dam, whose waters have now submerged the ancient city of Hasankeyf, drowning thousands of years of largely unexcavated human history and displacing an estimated 100,000 people, while giving Turkey unprecedented control over waters of the wider region.

New projects developed in Cizîre Region against drought
Leyla Saruxan, co-chair of Hasakah's Economy Committee for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, talks about how drought and war seriously affect agriculture, “We will overcome this crisis by developing new projects.”
AANES to establish new water station in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
An official of Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said that they are working on a station which will feed 1,000 homes in the villages of Hariza and Barshim, eastern Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.
Water as a Weapon – Çay at the Women’s Front podcast
The access to water in Rojava and NE Syria is becoming more and more limited. The severe drought that has been lasting for over two years is connected to the global ecological situation and the Turkish state cutting the water supply to the region. Water is a source of life and as such it is one of the most direct ways to attack the society. The water is being used as a method of war. A friend joined us to talk about Heyva sor, the Kurdish Red moon structure and her current project on assessing and improving water infrastructures, access to water and the quality of water.
Women’s cooperatives overcome water wars and climate drought in Rojava
Ever since devastating twin earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria on the night of 5-6 February killing over 50,000 people and displacing millions, the world’s attention has once again returned to the Turkey-Syria border. A catastrophe for all affected, it has been intensified for Kurds in Turkey and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Agricultural cooperatives develop with women in North-East Syria
The Economic Committee of the North-East Syria manages 45 thousand acres of agricultural land through cooperatives which provide income for about a thousand women.
Jinwar Women’s village newsletter February 2023
But also during the intensified war and the earthquake disaster, the daily life continues and the preparation for planting new vegetables and crops have been completed. Besides other things, beans, wheat and barley have already been planted and the women continue to bake their own delicious bread.
The defense of the revolution leads through ecological justice
The Rojava Revolution is based on the theory of Democratic Confederalism according to Abdullah Öcalan. Democratic Confederalism, in turn, is an ecological paradigm by its very nature. What does this mean concretely in Rojava?
Tişrîn Dam back in operation
Tişrîn Dam started to work again on Wednesday after being stopped for a week. According to the new work program, there will be a reduction in the hours of electricity supplied to the region.
18 villages west of Kobanê face thirst as earthquake damaged water treatment plant
18 villages to the west of Kobanê faced thirst because their groundwater became unusable after the severe earthquake in North Kurdistan.
Tishrin dam halted service due to hitting dead level – Administrator
An administrator at the Tishrin Dam, on the Euphrates River in northern Syria, said on Wednesday that the dam was put out of commission after its reservoir hit dead level, which is caused by severe shortage of water flow from Turkey.
More farmers in Rojava switch to solar energy as an alternative to diesel generators
Despite war and constant attacks, the ecological development of Rojava continues to make progress. More and more agricultural workers are converting their irrigation systems from diesel to solar energy.